Why Your Dentist Might Seem Pushy

https://khn.org/news/article/why-your-dentist-might-seem-pushy/ ^ | 05/19/21 | Daryl Austin

[Pining_4_TX]

In 1993, Dr. David Silber, a dentist now practicing in Plano, Texas, was fired from the first dental clinic he worked for. He’d been assigned to a patient another dentist had scheduled for a crown preparation — a metal or porcelain cap for a broken or decayed tooth. However, Silber found nothing wrong with the tooth, so he sent the patient home.

He was fired later the same day. “Never send a patient away who’s willing to pay the clinic money,” he was told.

(snip)

But sometimes dentists escalate to outright fraud. A recent article in the Journal of Insurance Fraud in America put it plainly: “Medicaid fraud is the most lucrative business model in U.S. dentistry today.”

[Pining_4_TX]

I know. I hate entering the den of medicine and dentistry. I will be having oral surgery soon, and I’m dreading it. After that, I may be looking at hip replacement. You know you’re old when you have to prioritize your surgeries.

Glad you were able to have your damaged eye repaired, and happy birthday (early)!

[Pining_4_TX]

I’m glad they caught him. You have to be a special kind of low-life to do bad dental work and/or charge extra for it.

I had a crown that was placed without proper cleaning of the area. Needless to say, it got infected and the crown had to be replaced. I’ve had 2 root canals on that tooth since then, and yet another crown. I hope this one lasts.

[Pining_4_TX]

All the dentists in our medicare plan are like that - part of some group. They also all seem to be foreigners. We pay extra to have our own private dental insurance, so we can choose our own dentists.

[Pining_4_TX]

I agree. That stuff isn’t good for your gums anyway, and if you keep drinking coffee and tea, the stains come back. Why bother?

[Pining_4_TX]

That’s wonderful. Bless him and the others who do this kind of work.